Written questions by Strathern.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the safety of children online.

The government is implementing the Online Safety Act as quickly and effectively as possible, so children can be protected from criminal behaviour and harmful content online.The illegal content duties are now in force, so platforms already need to act to protect their users.The child safety duties will be in force from the Summer, at which point companies will need to further protect children from harmful content such as pornography, suicide and self-harm material.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of telecommunications systems resilience during power cuts.

Government recognises the importance of the issue of power resilience for the sector. Whilst most power cuts are brief, we recognise the impact that they can have on the telephone network. We are working closely with the regulator, communications providers and the power sector to improve resilience and minimise disruption to the public and businesses as much as possible.Communications providers have statutory responsibilities to take all appropriate and proportionate steps to minimise disruption to services and must ensure at least one form of communication is available for contacting emergency services for a minimum of one hour during a power outage. On 6 September 2024, Ofcom published detailed resilience guidelines specifying the measures that providers are expected to meet throughout their networks, including resilience to power cuts, and set out the analysis they are completing to consider whether additional resilience is required for mobile services.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to improve the resilience of local telecommunications networks through power outages.

Government recognises the importance of the issue of power resilience for the sector. Whilst most power cuts are brief, we recognise the impact that they can have on the telephone network. We are working closely with the regulator, communications providers and the power sector to improve resilience and minimise disruption to the public and businesses as much as possible.Communications providers have statutory responsibilities to take all appropriate and proportionate steps to minimise disruption to services and must ensure at least one form of communication is available for contacting emergency services for a minimum of one hour during a power outage. On 6 September 2024, Ofcom published detailed resilience guidelines specifying the measures that providers are expected to meet throughout their networks, including resilience to power cuts, and set out the analysis they are completing to consider whether additional resilience is required for mobile services.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the Communications Ombudsman's powers to increase the accountability of telecommunications providers.

The Communications Ombudsman is one of two Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes accredited by Ofcom, the independent regulator of services, in the telecoms sector. Ofcom launched a review of ADR in November 2023 which examines the extent to which schemes are working effectively, whether customers are receiving an accessible and fair service; and the potential need for changes to the monitoring of performance. Ofcom expect to provide an update on their review by the end of the year. The government will consider any potential next steps once Ofcom’s review has concluded.